I call this emotional survival. Something few recognize is that when you’re committing an hour and a half a day to travel to a loved one in hospital, that’s only the beginning. Hospitals know it and many now include a little outdoor place where visitors can revitalize, meditate and pray. I relied on that to throttle down during my husband’s illness.
Even a brief stroll through nature helps to keep perspective. Your world is on fire, but spring flowers still grow. People still sing.
There was one day I truly thought I could not survive. It has been months of exhaustion and trauma and using my home like an air b n b.
A dreadful incident occurred and when it was over and my husband was sleeping, I went outside and cried for a long time. Then I took a deep breath and went back in, but the sobbing started again and I ducked into a restroom and cried more. When I finally left the stall there was a petite black woman gazing at me and she literally just opened her arms to me.
She held me like a mother. Or an angel. I asked her name and she said “Delta.” That’s all I know,
Wherever resources come from, they still give us strength.
And your son is learning something important. He’s seeing that sometimes we can’t do what we want because there is something we must do.
